Coordinates	53°49′27″N23°20′27″N
Name	Channel 4
Logosize	150px
Logofile	Channel 4 New Logo.svg
Logoalt	Channel 4's logo is now cut out from a white background, and is shown in moving distortions that reveal programme-specific graphics underneath
Launch	2 November 1982
Picture format	576i (SDTV 16:9)1080i (HDTV)
Timeshift names	Channel 4+1
Share	5.9%1.0% (+1)
Share as of	June 2011
Share source	BARB
Sister names	Film4,E4,More4,4Music,Kerrang!,Kiss,Magic,Q,Smash Hits!,The Box
Owner	Channel Four Television Corporation
Country	United Kingdom
Web	channel4.com
Terr serv 1	Analogue
Terr chan 1	''Normally tuned to 4''(excluding Wales) ''(To be phased out nationwide by 2012)''
Terr serv 2	Freeview
Terr chan 2	Channel 4Channel 8 (Wales)Channel 13 (+1)Channel 52 (HD, excluding Wales) (Currently being rolled out)
Sat serv 1	Freesat
Sat chan 1	Channel 104Channel 120 (Wales)Channel 121 (+1)Channel 126 (HD)
Sat serv 2	Sky
Sat chan 2	Channel 104Channel 117 (Wales)Channel 135 (+1)Channel 135, 136 +1 (IRL)Channel 140 (HD)
Sat serv 3	Astra 2D|
Sat chan 3	10714H 22000 5/610729V 22000 5/6|
Sat serv 4	Astra 2A|
Sat chan 4	12480V 27500 2/3|
Sat serv 5	Eurobird 1|
Sat chan 5	12606V 27500 3/4 (HD)|
Cable serv 1	Virgin Media
Cable chan 1	Channel 104Channel 143 (+1)Channel 142 (HD)
Cable serv 2	UPC Ireland
Cable chan 2	Channel 111|
Cable serv 3	Cablecom (Switzerland)
Cable chan 3	Channel 163 (CH-D)
adsl serv 1	TalkTalk TV
adsl chan 1	Channel 4
online serv 1	4oD
online chan 1	Main online service of Channel 4 }}

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the station is now owned and operated by the Channel Four Television Corporation, a public body established in 1990, coming into operation in 1993. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter in Wales to digital on 31 March 2010, Channel 4 became a UK-wide TV channel for the first time.

The channel was established to provide a fourth television service to the United Kingdom in addition to the television licence-funded BBC's two services and the single commercial broadcasting network, ITV.

Public service remit

Channel 4 was established with, and continues to hold, a remit of public service obligations which it must fulfil. The remit changes periodically, as dictated by various broadcasting and communications acts, and is regulated by the various authorities Channel 4 has been answerable to; originally the IBA, then the ITC and now Ofcom.

The preamble of the remit as per the Communications Act 2003 states that:

"The public service remit for Channel 4 is the provision of a broad range of high quality and diverse programming which, in particular:

demonstrates innovation, experiment and creativity in the form and content of programmes;

appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society;

makes a significant contribution to meeting the need for the licensed public service channels to include programmes of an educational nature and other programmes of educative value; and

exhibits a distinctive character."

The remit also involves an obligation to provide programming for schools, and a substantial amount of programming produced outside of Greater London.

Channel Four Television Corporation

name	Channel Four Television Corporation
type	Private/Limited
foundation	2 November 1982
location city	London
location country	United Kingdom
area served	United Kingdom
industry	Broadcasting
products	Television and Radio
homepage	www.channel4.com
intl	}}

As an organisation, Channel 4 is known as the Channel Four Television Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to C4C), a statutory corporation, though this form is more recent than the station itself, having previously been the Channel Four Television Company Limited, a subsidiary of the IBA, between 1982 and 1993.

Towards the end of the 1980s, the government began a radical process of re-organisation of the commercial broadcasting industry, which was written onto the statute books by means of the Broadcasting Act 1990. Significantly, this meant the abolition of the IBA, and hence the Channel Four Television Company. The result led to the creation of a corporation to own and operate the channel, which would have a greater deal of autonomy and would eventually go on to establish its other operations. The new corporation, which became operational in 1993, remained publicly owned and was regulated by the new Independent Television Commission (ITC), created under the same act. The ITC and its duties were later replaced by Ofcom, which like its predecessor is responsible for appointing the Corporation's board, in agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

In terms of the station's remit and other duties, the creation of the corporation meant little change; the new corporation would have to manage its own advertising, rather than this being carried out on its behalf by the local ITV contractors (see Funding).

History

Wales

At the time the fourth service was being considered, a movement in Wales lobbied for the creation of dedicated service that would air Welsh-language programmes, then only catered for at 'off peak' times on BBC Wales and HTV. The campaign was taken so seriously by Gwynfor Evans, former president of Plaid Cymru, that he threatened the government with a hunger strike were it not to honour the plans.

The result was that Channel 4 as seen by the rest of the United Kingdom would be replaced in Wales by ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C)'' (). Operated by a specially created Welsh Fourth Channel Authority, S4C would air programmes in Welsh as made by HTV, the BBC, or from independent companies. Initially limited frequency space meant that Channel 4 could not be broadcast alongside S4C, though some English Channel 4 programmes would be aired at less popular times on the Welsh variant, a practice that carried on up until the closure of S4C's analogue transmissions in 2010.

Since then, carriage on digital cable, satellite and digital terrestrial has introduced Channel 4 to Welsh homes where it is now universally available.

Conception

Before Channel 4 and S4C, Britain had three terrestrial television services: BBC1, BBC2, and ITV. The Broadcasting Act 1980 began the process of adding a fourth, and Channel 4, along with its Welsh counterpart, was formally created by an Act of Parliament in 1982. After some months of test broadcasts, it began scheduled transmissions on 2 November 1982.

The notion of a second commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom had been around since the inception of ITV in 1954 and its subsequent launch in 1955; the idea of an 'ITV2' was long expected and pushed for. Indeed television sets sold throughout the 1970s and early 1980s had a spare channel called 'ITV/IBA 2'. Throughout ITV's history and until Channel 4 finally became a reality, a perennial dialogue existed between the GPO, the government, the ITV companies and other interested parties, concerning the form such an expansion of commercial broadcasting would take. It was most likely politics which had the biggest impact in leading to a delay of almost three decades before the second commercial channel became a reality. With what can crudely be summed up as a clash of ideologies between an expansion of ITV's commercial ethos and a public service approach more akin to the BBC, it was ultimately something of a compromise that eventually led to the formation of Channel 4 as launched in 1982.

One clear benefit of the 'late arrival' of the channel was that its frequency allocations at each transmitter had already been arranged in the early 1960s, when the launch of an ITV2 was highly anticipated. This led to very good coverage across most of the country and few problems of interference with other UK-based transmissions; a stark contrast to the problems associated with Channel 5's launch 14 and a half years later.

Launch and IBA control: 1982–1993

The first voice ever heard on Channel 4's opening day of Tuesday 2 November 1982 was that of continuity announcer Paul Coia, who intoned, "Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be able to say to you: Welcome to Channel Four", before heading into a montage of clips from its programmes set to the station's signature tune, "Fourscore", written by Lord David Dundas, which would form the basis of the station's jingles for its first decade. The first programme to air on the channel was the teatime game show ''Countdown'', at 16.45 produced by Yorkshire Television; it is still running as of 2010. The first person to be seen on Channel 4 was Richard Whiteley with Carol Vorderman being the second and the first female on the channel. Whiteley opened the show with the words "As the countdown to a brand new channel ends, a brand new countdown begins." On its first day, Channel 4 also broadcast controversial soap opera ''Brookside'', which ran for 21 years.

Upon its launch, Channel 4 committed itself to providing an alternative to the existing channels, an agenda in part set out by its remit which required the provision of programming to minority groups.

In step with its remit, the channel became well received both by minority groups and the arts and cultural worlds during this period, especially under Isaacs, where the channel gained a reputation for programmes on the contemporary arts. The channel often did not receive mass audiences for much of this period, however, as might be expected for a station focusing on minority interest.

Channel 4 also began the funding of independent films, such as the Merchant-Ivory docudrama ''The Courtesans of Bombay'', during this time.

In 1992, Channel 4 also faced its first libel case by Jani Allan, a South African journalist, who objected to her representation in the documentary ''The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife''.

Channel Four Television Corporation: 1993 onwards

After control of the station passed from the Channel Four Television Company to the Channel Four Television Corporation in 1993 (see above), a shift in broadcasting style took place. Instead of aiming for the fringes of society, it began to focus on the edges of the mainstream, and the centre of the mass market itself. It began to show many US programmes in peak viewing time, far more than it had previously done. It premièred such shows as ''Friends'' and ''ER''.

In the early 2000s, Channel Four began broadcasting reality formats such as ''Big Brother'' and obtained the rights to broadcast mass appeal sporting events like cricket and horse racing. This new direction increased ratings and revenues.

In addition, the channel launched a number of new television channels through its new 4Ventures off-shoot, including Film4, At The Races, E4 and More4 (see Other services).

Partially in reaction to its new 'populist' direction, the Communications Act 2003 directed the channel to demonstrate innovation, experimentation and creativity, appeal to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society and to include programmes of an educational nature which exhibit a distinctive character.

Under the leadership of Freeview founder Andy Duncan, 2005 saw a change of direction for Channel 4's digital channels. Channel 4 made E4 'free to air' on Digital Terrestrial, and launched a new 'free to air' digital channel called More4. By October, Channel 4 had joined the Freeview consortium. By July 2006, Film4 had also become a 'free to air' and re-started broadcasting on Digital Terrestrial.

Venturing into radio broadcasting, 2005 saw Channel 4 purchase 51 per cent of shares in the now defunct Oneword radio station with UBC Media holding on to the remaining shares. New programmes such as the weekly, half-hour ''The Morning Report'' news programme were among some of the new content Channel 4 provided for the station, with the name 4Radio being used. As of early 2009, however, Channel 4's future involvement in radio remained uncertain.

On 2 November 2007, the station celebrated its twenty-fifth birthday. It showed the first episode of ''Countdown'', an anniversary ''Countdown'' special, as well as a special edition of The Big Fat Quiz and using the original multicoloured 1982-1996 blocks logo on presentation and idents using the Fourscore jingle throughout the day.

In November 2009, Channel 4 launched a week of 3D television, broadcasting selected programmes each night using stereoscopic ColorCode technology. The accompanying 3D glasses were distributed through Sainsbury's supermarkets.

The future

Channel 4 has raised concerns over how it might finance its public service obligations after digital switch-over. However, some certainty lies in the announcement in April 2006 that Channel 4's digital switch-over costs would be paid for by licence fee revenues.

On 28 March 2007, Channel 4 announced plans to launch a music channel "4Music" as a joint venture with British media company EMAP which would include carriage on the Freeview platform. On 15 August 2008, 4Music was launched across the UK. Recently, Channel 4 have announced interest in launching a high-definition version of Film4 on Freeview, to coincide with the launch of Channel 4 HD, however the fourth HD slot was given to Channel 5 instead. Channel 4 has since acquired a 50% stake in EMAP's TV business for a reported £28 million.

Carriage

Channel 4 was carried from its beginning on analogue terrestrial, which was practically the only means of television broadcast in the United Kingdom at the time. It will continue to be broadcast through these means until the changeover to digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom is complete. Since 1998, it has been universally available on digital terrestrial, and the Sky platform (encrypted, though free of charge) as well as having been available from various times in various areas, on analogue and digital cable networks.

Due to its special status as a public service broadcaster with a specific remit, it is afforded free carriage on the terrestrial platforms, in contrast with other broadcasters such as ITV.

Channel 4 is also available overseas: parts of the European mainland have been able to receive terrestrial transmissions from the United Kingdom, and some overseas cable networks have carried the service.

Channel 4 Ulster has been available in large parts of Ireland, especially border counties which have been able to receive terrestrial transmissions from Northern Ireland. Channel 4 Ulster has been carried on Irish cable networks since the station went on the air in 1982. S4C has been available as a terrestrial transmission from Wales in southern counties such as Cork, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.

From 4 December 2006 Channel 4 was officially available to Sky viewers in Ireland; some programmes, mainly imports, are not aired on this channel variant, due to Channel 4 not owning the relevant broadcast rights within the country.

Channel 4 allowed Internet users in the United Kingdom to watch Channel 4 live on the Internet. However some programmes (mostly international imports) were not shown and this service no longer exists. Channel 4 is also provided by Virgin Mobile's DAB mobile TV service which has the same restrictions as the Internet live stream had.

Channel 4 also makes some of its programming available "on demand" via cable and the Internet (see 4oD).

Funding

During the station's formative years, funding came from the ITV companies in return for their right to sell advertisements in their region on the fourth channel.

Nowadays it pays for itself in much the same way as most privately run commercial stations, i.e. through the sale of on-air advertising, programme sponsorship, and the sale of any programme content and merchandising rights it owns, such as overseas sales and video sales. It also has the ability to subsidise the main network through any profits made on the corporation's other endeavours, which have in the past included subscription fees from stations such as E4 and Film4 (now no longer subscription services) and its 'video-on-demand' sales. In practice, however, these other activities are loss-making, and are subsidised by the main network. According to Channel 4's last published accounts, for 2005, the extent of this cross-subsidy was some £30 million.

The change in funding method came about by the Broadcasting Act 1990 when the new corporation was afforded the ability to fund itself. Originally this arrangement left a 'safety net' guaranteed minimum income should the revenue fall too low, funded by large insurance payments made to the ITV companies. Such a subsidy was never required, however, and these premiums were phased out by government in 1998. After the link with ITV was cut, the cross-promotion which had existed between ITV and Channel 4 also ended.

In 2007 due to severe funding difficulties, the channel sought government help and was granted a payment of £14 million over a six-year period. The money would have come from the television licence fee and would have been the first time that money from the licence fee had been given to any broadcaster other than the BBC. The plan was scrapped by The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, ahead of "broader decisions about the future framework of public service broadcasting". The broadcasting regulator Ofcom released their review in January 2009 in which they suggested that Channel 4 would preferably be funded by "partnerships, joint ventures or mergers".

Programming

Channel 4 is a "publisher-broadcaster", meaning that it commissions or "buys" all of its programming from companies independent of itself, and was the first broadcaster in the United Kingdom to do so on any significant scale. This had the consequence of starting an industry of production companies that did not have to rely on owning an ITV licence in order to see their programmes air, though since Channel 4, external commissioning has become regular practise on the numerous stations that have launched since, as well as on the BBC and in ITV (where a quota of 25% minimum of total output has been imposed since the 1990 Broadcasting Act came into force). Ironically, having been the first British broadcaster to completely commission its core product from third parties, and after 25 years in-house, Channel 4 will now become the last terrestrial broadcaster to outsource its transmission and playout operations (to Red Bee Media).

The requirement to obtain all content externally is stipulated in its licence. Additionally, Channel 4 also began a trend of owning the copyright and distribution rights of the programmes it aired, in a manner that is similar to the major Hollywood studios' ownership of television programs that they did not directly produce. Thus, although Channel 4 does not produce programmes, many are seen as belonging to it.

Channel 4 also pioneered the concept of ''stranded programming'', where seasons of programmes following a common theme would be aired and promoted together. Some would be very specific, and run for a fixed period of time; the ''4 Mation'' season, for example, showed innovative animation. Other, less specific strands, were (and still are) run regularly, such as ''T4'', a strand of programming aimed at teenagers, on weekend mornings (and weekdays during school/college holidays); ''Friday Night Comedy'', a slot where the channel would pioneer its style of comedy commissions, ''4Music'' (now a separate channel) and ''4Later'', an eclectic collection of offbeat programmes transmitted to a cult audience in the early hours of the morning.

In its earlier years, ''Red Triangle'' was the name given to the airing of certain risqué art-house films due to the use of a red triangle DOG in the upper right of the screen, dubbed as being pornographic by many of Channel 4's critics, whilst general broadcasting of films on the station for many years came under the banner of ''Film on Four'' prior to the launch of the ''FilmFour'' brand and station in the late 1990s.

Its critically acclaimed news service, ''Channel 4 News'', is supplied by ITN whilst its long-standing investigative documentary, ''Dispatches'', causes perennial media attention.

Other services

November 1998 saw Channel 4 expand beyond its remit of providing the 'fourth service' in a significant way, with the launch of FilmFour. Since then the corporation has been involved in a range of other activities, all in some way associated with the main channel, and mainly using the '4' brand.

In March 2010 these additional services were reviewed by the government's Culture, Media and Sport select committee. The channel and its Chief Executive were criticised for breaking service commitments, a lack of transparency in accounting for digital channels, poor governance and failed investments

4Ventures/4Rights

In 2001 4Ventures was created as the parent body of Channel 4 related commercial activities, rather than public-service obligations, with the intent of making profit which would serve to subsidise the main Channel 4.

Following the sale of Quiz Call (a gaming channel operated by the then-owned subsidiary Ostrich Media) in 2006, a restructure of 4Ventures saw many of its activities re-integrated back into the main channel's operations (including day-to-day running of E4, Film4 and More4).

4Rights, was formed from an amalgamation of ''Channel 4 International'' and ''Channel 4 Consumer Products''. As part of the restructure, much of the 4Ventures management team either left the company - former chief executive (and Channel 4 commercial director) Rob Woodward, and managing director Anmar Kawash are now Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer respectively of STV Group plc - or transferred to other posts within Channel 4.

In 2007, the expanding, UK-based, independent distribution group Digital Rights Group (DRG) announced an intention to buy Channel 4 International (adding it to Zeal and ID Distribution among its other companies), following a review by Channel 4 of its commercial division. The deal was completed in November of the same year. The Consumer Products division has been retained by Channel 4 as part of a new, restructured, 4Rights division.

Television

Film4

Channel 4 has had a long record of success in funding the production of films through Channel Four Films, renamed FilmFour in 1998 to coincide with the launch of its digital channel of the same name. Notable successes include ''The Madness of King George'', ''The Crying Game'' and ''Four Weddings and a Funeral''. However, this dedicated film-making wing was scaled back in 2002 as a cost-cutting measure in the face of substantial losses.

Channel 4 launched a subscription film channel, FilmFour, in November 1998. It was available on digital satellite television and digital cable. Companion services, such as FilmFour+1, FilmFour World and FilmFour Extreme were also available on some digital services. In 2003 Extreme and World were discontinued, and replaced with FilmFour Weekly. FilmFour Weekly closed in July 2006, when the main, newly named Film4 channel went free-to-view and became available on Digital Terrestrial. The switchover to digital terrestrial was heavily advertised. The adverts featured Lucy Liu, Christian Slater, Ewan McGregor, Dame Judi Dench, Gael García Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Mackenzie Crook, Rhys Ifans and Ray Winstone declaring "Film4 is now free" in various situations across London. It remains the only film channel available free on digital terrestrial television.

In 2002, Channel 4's film financing division (Film4 Productions) was seriously scaled back, due to massive losses, although total closure was averted. It had however had various successes, most notably ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and ''Trainspotting''. In 1994, BAFTA/LA (the Los Angeles branch of the British Academy of Film & Television Arts) presented a full-length film festival in Los Angeles in conjunction with the American Cinematheque (the US equivalent of Britain's National Film Theatre) that saluted the considerable contributions to British film of Channel 4's film division since its inception. The festival presented many of the most celebrated Channel 4 films, and also featured panel discussions about Channel 4's role between Channel 4 chief executive Michael Grade and US TV producer Norman Lear.

When Channel 4 had the rights to broadcast test match cricket in England, the downtime of the FilmFour channel was often used to broadcast uninterrupted coverage of a match when the main channel was committed elsewhere, usually to racing. At these times FilmFour was available unencrypted and free-to-air.

E4

E4, a digital entertainment channel previously available on the Internet, with a target age-range of 16-34, was launched in January 2001. It features premières of US imports and supplementary footage for programmes on its main channel (most notably extended ''Big Brother'' coverage).

In 2005 it launched on Digital Terrestrial. E4 now has as much coverage as other services available on Cable, Satellite and Digital Terrestrial like ITV2 and BBC Three. It is a very successful channel with a ''first look'' or sneak peek, with the next episode of some series, such as ''Hollyoaks ''and ''Desperate Housewives'' appearing on E4 immediately after the show on Channel 4 has finished. Also they have "Second Chance Sunday" which allows you to see programmes you have missed during the week on a Sunday. New show ''Skins'' was a massive success for E4, peaking at the 2 million mark - one of the most viewed premières in digital TV history. There has, however, been some criticism that E4 (like many other digital channels), relies on seemingly endless repeats of a small selection of shows (notably ''Friends''), with further suggestion that it is often the same ''season'' of a particular show that is endlessly repeated.

During ''Big Brother'', E4 plays host to live coverage of the show, subject to a delay. Until 2005, programmes on the channel did not air until 14.00 GMT, but on 12 August 2005 the widely-advertised E4 Music airs from 06.00 until 10.00 GMT, with various music shows and videos being showcased. This however is rested during ''Big Brother''. Transmission of E4 Music has since declined and has been replaced with repeats of popular E4 shows. It has been declared that E4 Music has been moved permanently to the new 4Music channel. Since 2008, live coverage of Big Brother has been shortened during the day, until coming to a close in 2010.

E4 is widely available in Ireland in close to 70% of homes. It is carried on the NTL / Chorus cable networks and also on Sky. The channel operates a separate advertising opt-out in Ireland allowing advertisers to directly target Irish audiences. This has been a highly successful commercial operation and all airtime sales are handled on the channels behalf by Medialink in Dublin.

More4

More4 is a channel aimed at those aged 35–60. Launched on 10 October 2005, it channel carries news and nightly discussion programmes, such as ''More4 News'', an extension of ''Channel 4 News'' that attempts to look "beyond the headlines", giving in-depth analysis. Advertising before the launch of the channel flaunted such HBO shows as ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and ''The Sopranos'', as well as NBC's ''The West Wing''. Its conception has met conflicting responses; many people believe the programmes shown to be of great quality, while others see it as an excuse to free up more room for a deluge of property programmes or less respectable programmes (see ''Fat Pets'') in all other free slots on Channel 4.

4Music

Over recent years 4Music has risen, showing new single releases, as well as other music shows frequently broadcast across T4, Channel 4 and E4. 2007 saw its own logo being devised and since then has had many themed weekends dedicated to a current band or performer.

On Sundays, Channel 4's 4Music strand aired between 17:00 and midnight on The Hits. The first 'episode' was presented by the most successful female act of the century Sugababes, however 4Music Sundays were meant to feature live acts and also The Shockwaves Album Chart Show.

On 20 February 2008, it was announced that The Hits was to be rebranded as 4Music later in the year, and on 15 August 2008, Channel 4 replaced The Hits with 4Music. 4Music is available on Sky 360, Virgin 330 and Freeview 18. (See ''Box Television'')

4Music also has its own monthly music magazine show, The Crush. Which is hosted by Rick Edwards.

'+1' Channels

Channel 4 runs timeshift variants of all its services (excluding 4Music and Channel 4 HD), including Channel 4 +1 since 20 August 2007. across all digital platforms. Channel 4 was the first terrestrial broadcaster in the United Kingdom to offer a time-shift variant of its main channel. In common with many other broadcasters, these channels output exactly the same programmes and continuity as was broadcast an hour previously, and are titled with the station name followed by a "+1" suffix.

Channel 4 +1, E4 +1 and More4 +1 all carry a "+1" indication onscreen. There was some concern about how it would be indicated on Channel 4 +1 as Channel 4 does not carry its own on-screen graphic. Eventually, a "+1" symbol that is derived from the Channel 4 logo was unveiled. Neither Film4 nor Film4 +1 carry on-screen graphics.

Box Television

In July 2007 Channel 4 bought 50% of Box Television Ltd for £28 m from Emap plc. It has since emerged that, as a result of Emap's decision to sell off its divisions in a break-up sale of the group, Channel 4 may be interested in acquiring the remaining half of the business. Box TV operates seven music TV stations (4Music, The Box, Smash Hits, Kerrang!, Q, Kiss and Magic). Emap's stake in Box Television Limited was transferred to new owners, Bauer Consumer Media, following Bauer's acquisition of Emap's publishing and radio businesses.

Channel 4 HD

On 10 December 2007, Channel 4 launched a high definition television simulcast of Channel 4 on Sky+ HD, after British Sky Broadcasting agreed to contribute toward the channel’s satellite distribution costs. On 31 July 2009, Virgin Media added Channel 4 HD on channel 146 as a part of the M pack. On 25 March 2010 Channel 4 HD appeared on Freeview channel 52 with a placeholding caption, ahead of a commercial launch on 30 March 2010, coinciding with the commercial launch of Freeview HD. On 19 April 2011, Channel 4 HD was added to Freesat on channel 126. As a consequence, the channel moved from being free-to-view to free-to-air on satellite during March 2011.

The channel carries the same schedule as Channel 4, broadcasting programmes in HD when available. Initially this has been mostly American imports (such as ''Ugly Betty'' for example) and movies, however, original programming such as ''Hollyoaks'' and ''Skins'' have been broadcast in HD. Although the intention is to increase the amount of "home grown" material being broadcast in HD. It has been announced as the UK's first full-time high definition channel from a terrestrial broadcaster.

Previously, in the summer of 2006, Channel 4 ran a six month closed trial of HDTV, as part of the wider Freeview HD experiment via the Crystal Palace transmitter to London and parts of the home counties, including the use of ''Lost'' and ''Desperate Housewives'' as part of the experiment, as US broadcasters such as ABC already have an HDTV back catalogue.

Previous channels

At the Races

In 2000, Channel 4 launched a dedicated horse racing channel, At the Races, in conjunction with British Sky Broadcasting and Arena Leisure plc, owner of 28 of Britain's racecourses. The channel ceased broadcasting in 2003 owing to financial problems, but was subsequently restructured and re-launched (without Channel 4's involvement) in June 2004 and it is branded with almost identical livery as Sky Sports. Channel 4's racing coverage, re-named to incorporate "At The Races" in the title, returned to its original name of Channel 4 Racing when the channel left involvement with At The Races. Channel 4 racing programmes now feature close co-operation with rival digital racing channel Racing UK, who sub-licence the live rights and share the same production company. Channel 4 cross-promote Racing UK's coverage of the day's racing during its broadcasts.

Radio

4 Digital Group

Channel 4 was the leading member of the 4 Digital Group consortium, which includes EMAP, UTV and STV Group plc as partners (although STV's involvement will cease when Virgin Radio is floated as a separate company). In July 2007 The group was awarded the 12 year licence to operate the second national DAB radio licence after having defeated its only rival, National Grid Wireless, in the three-month bidding process.

The service would have operated ten radio stations, including Channel 4 Radio, E4 Radio, Sky News Radio (operated by BSkyB and Global Radio) and Radio Disney (in association with Disney). Many of the services, especially Channel 4 Radio and E4 Radio would have competed directly with national BBC Radio stations. Podcast and text services were also to have been provided. In October 2008 Channel 4 announced that it was abandoning its plans for digital radio stations.

4radio

In June 2006 Channel 4 tried to launch 4radio, offering audio programmes in the shape of podcasts aimed at introducing new public service radio services informed by C4's values of creativity and innovation. Coupled with its strategy of becoming a truly multimedia company, 4radio hosts shows that tie in with its flagship TV hits including ''Big Brother'', ''Lost'', and ''Channel 4 News''.

The successful multiplex consortium was expected to launch in 2008 with a taste of Channel 4 Radio's audio output made available earlier, including a revival of the channel's The Tube music programme, and a very small amount of 4radio-branded content was heard on Oneword until its closure in January 2008.

Channel 4, as part of its review of public serving spending in 2008 decided to focus its expenditure on TV content and decided to stop its radio plans, resulting in the closure of 4 Digital Group.

Oneword

Oneword was a digital radio station featuring the spoken word. In early 2005 Channel 4 purchased a minority stake in it, later that year buying a majority one worth £1,000,000. On 4 January 2007 it was announced that had Channel 4 sold its 51% stake back to UBC Media for £1. Its normal programming was suspended while a strategic review took place on the station. The station ceased broadcasting on 11 January 2008.

Internet

====Channel4.com==== The station's website is channel4.com. The site offers detailed programme information, highlights, and chats with actors and presenters of all Channel 4 channels. It also has in-depth sections including news, film, homes, sport, and more. Its learning sections are often used by many for educational needs.

4mations

In January 2008, Channel 4 joined with Aardman Animations and Lupus Films to create 4mations, a user-generated content animation portal, similar to aniBOOM or MyToons.

4oD / Catch-up

4oD is a video on demand service from Channel 4. Launched in November 2006, 4oD stands for "4 on Demand". The service offers a variety of programmes recently shown on Channel 4, E4, More4 or from their archives. However some programmes and movies are not available due to rights issues.

Teletext

4-Tel/FourText

Channel 4 originally licensed an ancillary teletext service to provide schedules, programme information and features. The original service was called 4-Tel and was provided in collaboration with Oracle. In 1993, with Oracle losing its franchise to Teletext Ltd, the running of 4-Tel was taken over by Intelfax, and in 2002 was renamed FourText.

Teletext on 4

In 2003, Channel 4 awarded Teletext Ltd a ten year contract to run the channel's ancillary teletext service, named Teletext on 4. The service is provided on both Channel 4 analogue and digital television services, Channel 4, E4 and More4. This has now been ceased and Teletext is no longer available on Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5.

Corporate structure

Management

Channel 4 is run by a chief executive, whose role can be compared to that of the Director-General of the BBC. The chief executive is appointed by the chairman, which is a part-time position appointed by Ofcom.

Chairmen

Edmund Dell (1982–1987)

Richard Attenborough (1987–1992)

Michael Bishop (1993–1997)

Vanni Treves (1998–2003)

Luke Johnson (2004–2010)

Terry Burns (2010–Present)

Deputy Chairmen

Richard Attenborough (1982–1987)

David Puttnam

Chief Executives

Jeremy Isaacs (1981–1987)

Michael Grade (1988–1997)

Michael Jackson (1997–2002)

Mark Thompson (Mar 2002 – Jun 2004)

Andy Duncan (Jul 2004 - Nov 2009)

Anne Bulford (Interim) (Nov 2009 - Jan 2010)

David Abraham (Jan 2010 – Present)

Financial information

Channel 4's total revenue for the year to 31 December 2005 was £894.3 million, of which £735.2 million was generated by its main channel, and the remainder by its subsidiaries channels, sales of programming rights to other broadcasters, Film Four and "new media". Operating profits for the year to 31 December 2006 fell 70% to £14.5 million from £56.9 million in 2005.

Headquarters

Channel 4 was originally based at 60 Charlotte Street in the West End of London. Since 1994 the channel has occupied distinctive, purpose-built headquarters at 124 Horseferry Road, Westminster. Designed by Richard Rogers Partnership with structural engineering by Ove Arup & Partners, its 15,000sq metres architecture follows on from - but is more restrained than - the Lloyd's building in the City of London, and was constructed between 1990 and 1994. Twin four-storey office blocks arranged in an L shape are connected by a curved front with a dramatic concave glazed wall.

Despite nearly all Channel 4 programmes being commissioned from independent production companies, the Channel 4 headquarters originally contained a studio and post-production facility, marketed as 124 Facilities. The studio was used for Channel 4 programmes (such as T4 continuity), and other channels' programmes such as Channel 5's football coverage. The studio was closed at the end of October 2007 and only the post-production operation remains, though it is now managed by Red Bee Media.

Regions

Channel 4 has, since its inception, broadcast identical programmes and continuity throughout the United Kingdom (excluding Wales where it did not operate on analogue transmitters). At launch this made it unique, as both the BBC and ITV had long established traditions of providing regional variations in their programming and announcements between transmitters in different areas of the country (although in the case of BBC2, variations have by and large tended to be limited to national idents as opposed to regional ones). In ITV's case, this was a consequence of its inherent federal structure (see ITV companies). Since the launch of subsequent British television channels, Channel 4 has become typical in its lack of variations of this nature.

A few exceptions exist to this rule for programming and continuity: Ireland has a dedicated variant broadcast on Sky Ireland which omits programmes for which broadcast rights are not held in Ireland. For example, the series Glee is not available on Channel 4 on Sky in Ireland.

Some of Channel 4's schools' programming (1980s/early '90s) were regionalised due to differences in curricula between different regions.

Part of Channel 4's remit covers the commissioning of programmes from outside London. Channel 4 has a dedicated director of nations and regions, Stuart Cosgrove, who is based in a regional office in Glasgow. As his job title suggests, it is his responsibility to foster relations with independent producers based in areas of the United Kingdom (including Wales) outside of London.

Advertising on Channel 4 does contain regular variation: prior to 1993, when ITV was responsible for selling Channel 4's advertising, each regional ITV company would provide the content of advertising breaks, covering the same transmitter area as themselves, and these breaks were often unique to that area. After Channel 4 became responsible for its own advertising, it continued to offer advertisers the ability to target particular audiences and divided its coverage area into six parts coining the term 'LEMNUS' standing for "London, The East [and South] of England, The Midlands, The North of England, Ulster and Scotland.

At present, Wales does not have its own advertising region, instead its viewers receive the southern region on digital platforms intentionally broadcast to the area, or the neighbouring region where analogue transmissions spill over into Wales. Ireland (the Republic) shares its advertising region with Northern Ireland (referred to by Channel 4 as the 'Ulster Macro') with many advertisers selling products for Ireland here. E4 has an advertising variant for Ireland, although Northern Ireland receives the UK version of E4. The six regions are also carried on satellite, cable and Digital Terrestrial.

Channel 5 and GMTV use a similar model to Channel 4 for providing their own advertising regions, despite also having a single national output of programming.

Future possibility of regional news

With ITV plc pushing for much looser requirements on the amount of regional news and other programming it is obliged to broadcast in its ITV regions, the idea of Channel 4 taking on a regional news commitment has been considered, with the corporation in talks with Ofcom and ITV over the matter. Channel 4 believe that a scaling-back of such operations on ITV's part would be detrimental to Channel 4's national news operation, which shares much of its resources with ITV through their shared news contractor ITN. At the same time, Channel 4 also believe that such an additional public service commitment would bode well in on-going negotiations with Ofcom in securing additional funding for its other public service commitments.

Annual Reports and Financial Statements

Annual Reports and Financial Statements 1983-Present

See also

Annan Committee

Ban This Filth

Channel 4 News

Channel 4 programming

Channel 4 Sheffield Pitch competition

List of British television channels

3 Minute Wonder

Wank Week

References

External links

''Media Guardian'' special report on Channel 4

Channel 4 on TV Ark

Category:Peabody Award winners Category:Media companies based in London Category:Statutory corporations of the United Kingdom government Category:1982 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:Television channels and stations established in 1982

bn:চ্যানেল ৪ ca:Channel 4 cy:Channel 4 da:Channel 4 de:Channel 4 es:Channel 4 fr:Channel 4 ko:채널 4 is:Channel 4 it:Channel 4 he:ערוץ 4 ms:Channel 4 nl:Channel 4 ja:チャンネル4 no:Channel 4 pl:Channel 4 pt:Channel 4 simple:Channel 4 fi:Channel 4 sv:Channel 4 tr:Channel 4 (Britanya) zh:英國第四台

Major General Shavendra Silva, WWV, RWP, RSP is a Sri Lankan general and diplomat. The current Sri Lankan Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, he was the former Director of Operations, Sri Lanka Army and the General Officer Commanding, 58 Division during the Sri Lankan civil war.

He was a highly decorated officer, being awarded the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya, Rana Wickrama Padakkama and the Rana Sura Padakkama at once, a first in the Sri Lankan military history. He was the youngest promoted as a commanding officer. As an officer instructor at the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) in Diyatalawa, he trained the first foreign cadets to attend SLMA and went on to become its commanding officer.

During 2002-2004 peace talks he took part in negotiations to open the A-9 Main Supply Route (MSR). With the resumption of hostilities he become the Brigade Commander of the Air Mobile Brigade and later took command of the 58 Division and was instrumental in the military capturing several former LTTE strongholds including the Mannar rice Bowl, Nachchikuda, Devils Point, Pooneryn, Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass, Vishvamadu and Puthukudirippu. After the end of the war he was appointed as Director of Operations of the Sri Lanka Army and promoted to the rank of Major General.

In 2010, he took up position as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations as the only serving army officer to hold such a post.

See also

Sri Lankan Non Career Diplomats

References

External links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuKfXwP0pGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_dPlhz4CKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWkkPs6DZ1M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiQaCCg5rcc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lxlDSuRRnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELW8SFZV6p8&feature;=related

Category:Living people Category:Sri Lankan generals Category:Sri Lankan diplomats

Coordinates	53°49′27″N23°20′27″N
name	Derren Victor Brown
birth name	Derren Victor Brown
birth date	February 27, 1971
birth place	Purley, London, England,United Kingdom
occupation	Psychological illusionist, mentalist, artist, painter, writer, sceptic, television presenter
years active	1992-present
nationality	British
website	}}

Derren Victor Brown (born 27 February 1971) is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as ''Trick of the Mind'' and ''Trick or Treat''. Since the first broadcast of his show ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, Brown has become increasingly well known for his "mind-reading" act. He has written books for magicians as well as the general public. His caricature artwork has received gallery exhibition and is available in a single volume documenting his portrait collection.

Though his performances of mind-reading and other feats of mentalism may appear to be the result of psychic or paranormal practices, he claims no such abilities and frequently denounces those who do. Brown states at the beginning of his ''Trick of the Mind'' programmes that he achieves his results using a combination of "magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship". Using his knowledge and skill, he appears to be able to predict and influence people's thoughts with subtle suggestion, manipulate the decision making process and read the subtle physical and psychological signs or body language that indicate what a person is thinking.

Early life

Brown was born to Bob and Chris Brown in Purley, South London, England. He has a brother, who is nine years his junior. Brown was educated at Whitgift School (where his father coached swimming), and studied Law and German at the University of Bristol. While there, he attended a hypnosis show by Martin S Taylor, which inspired him to turn to illusion and hypnosis as a career. Whilst an undergraduate, he started working as a conjuror, performing the traditional skills of close-up magic in bars and restaurants. In 1992, he started performing stage hypnosis shows at the University of Bristol under the stage name Darren V. Brown.

Television series

''Mind Control (1999–2000)''

Brown began his television work with three sixty-minute specials produced over two years. In 1999 he was asked by Channel 4 to put a mind-reading programme together. The six part series ''Mind Control'' incorporated new footage with the best of his hour long shows. Selected highlights from the first series were later made available on DVD as ''Derren Brown — Inside Your Mind''.

Andy Nyman was originally intended to front the programme but he wanted to concentrate on acting so Brown was recommended to the producers by comedian and close-up magician Jerry Sadowitz.

''Trick of the Mind (2004–2006)''

''Trick of the Mind'' was the title for Brown's next series, which ran for three consecutive series. Unlike ''Mind Control'' it is all completely new material. The second series started on E4 on 11 April 2005 and was repeated on Channel 4. The third series started on 26 March 2006. Trick of the Mind series 1 and 2 are also available to buy on DVD.

''Waking Dead''

In an episode first broadcast on Friday 6 May Brown claimed to have created a video game called "Waking Dead" which "is able to put roughly 1/3 of the people who play it into a catatonic trance". The video game is then placed in a pub. Brown then "kidnaps" the catatonic "victim" and places him in a real-life recreation of the video game, having him fire an air gun at actors pretending to be zombies and outfitted with explosive squibs.

The episode raised considerable controversy. Mick Grierson, credited in the episode as "Zombie Game Designer", put up a website linking to various articles about the episode.

''Trick or Treat (2007–2008)''

''Trick or Treat'' started on Channel 4 in 2007. The focus of the show is on one volunteer who receives either a good experience or a bad experience. The experience the volunteers receive is decided by which card they choose. If they choose the card that says 'Trick' they receive a bad experience, and if they choose the card that says 'Treat' they receive a good experience. In the first series of 'Trick or Treat', the volunteer had no choice over the matter as the cards were ambigrams; however, in the second series, they were replaced by two more clearly defined cards that were no longer ambigrams.

Episodes of ''Trick or Treat'' are not preceded by Brown's usual claim that no actors or stooges were used in the filming of the shows. Indeed, some participants (such as the ambulance crew in the last episode) are declared to be actors.

The second series of "Trick or Treat" began on 2 May 2008 at 22.00 on Channel 4. The third episode showed a slight change from the previous format, as actor David Tennant became the first celebrity to be used for the show. The two had met at a party where Tennant expressed interest in Brown's work. While writing the second season Brown "thought it would be fun if one of the participants was well known".

The last episode of the second series featured all volunteers of the series who had previously received a trick or treat. This episode highlighted the belief in superstition and the degree to which it can be applied.

''Mind Control with Derren Brown (2007)''

On 26 July 2007, the US based SCI FI Channel began showing six one-hour episodes of a series titled ''Mind Control with Derren Brown''. Andrew O'Connor and Anthony Owen were executive producers, and the show was produced by Simon Mills who had produced the two previous series of Trick Or Treat as well as The Heist and The System for Objective Productions. Journalists in New York at the press announcement were shown preview clips of Brown "manipulating human behaviour" and given the promise of more surprises to come. Sci Fi's press release described the show as an "original US produced version". The show was a mix of new segments filmed in the US and older clips shown in earlier UK TV shows. The first showing release schedule was:

Episode 1: "Shopping Mall Carpark" 26 July

Episode 2: "Lying Car Salesman" 2 August

Episode 3: "Exotic Dancers" 8 August

Episode 4: "Receptive Children" 15 August (with Simon Pegg as a guest star)

Episode 5: "Assault Course" 22 August

Episode 6: "Disappearing Sun" 29 August

''Derren Brown: The Events (2009)''

Filmed for Channel 4 in front of a live studio audience, this new series, (the first episode of which aired on 11 September 2009 at 21:00) was made up of four one-hour specials, during which Brown attempted what he described as "some of the most incredible feats to date". The show consisted of a mixture of pre-recorded location pieces connected by theatre-based segments, with each of the four one-hour programmes building up to a major stunt performance. The first teasers broadcast were shown backwards. When played forwards, Brown explained that in his new series he would be revealing the "inner workings" of his tricks and "showing you how to get away with it". Stunts included a live TV broadcast in which he suggested that he had successfully predicted the winning National Lottery, and incapacitating viewers, making them feel that they were stuck to their sofa, using a subliminal video. He has also projected an image into viewers' minds and had them draw it on paper. His final event was an attempt to predict the outcome of a roulette wheel, staking £5,000 of a chosen viewer's money on the outcome. The ball landed in the pocket numbered 30 just next to Brown's choice of 8.

''Derren Brown Investigates (2010)''

Derren Brown Investigates began a run of three programs on Channel 4 on 10 May 2010. During the first program, Brown met with British psychic medium Joe Power. A second program concerns a Ukrainian system of human development that claims to teach people to see without the use of their eyes, and in a third he met a ghosthunter from the US. With these people he discussed their claims to have evidence of the paranormal.

#	Title	Original airdate

Television specials

''Derren Brown Plays Russian Roulette Live'' (2003)

On 5 October 2003, Brown performed Russian roulette, live on Channel 4. The stunt was performed at an undisclosed location, supposedly in Jersey, due to laws in mainland Britain restricting the firing of live rounds to qualified armourers. The majority of the episode focused upon the nomination of the final volunteer, James, who was chosen from 12,000 who applied for the task, and whittled down to five by the day of the stunt. As a prize, James was chosen to be the only person in the room when Brown performed the stunt. James was required to load a single shot into a revolver with six numbered chambers. The bullet was located in chamber number 1, which Brown fired at a sand bag hanging on the wall.

The programme was initially condemned by senior British police officers, apparently fearful of copycat acts. In addition Jersey police stated that "There was no live ammunition involved and at no time was anyone at risk" and "There is absolutely no way that the States of Jersey police would allow anybody to put themselves at risk and shoot themselves dead." When asked about the possible use of blanks in the act Brown responded, "But the frustrating and kind of ironic part of it was that even if it had been a blank that wouldn’t have made it any less dangerous. You shoot a blank next to your head and it will still kill you.”

Brown himself defended the programme, saying, "It probably sounds odd. But as a magic-related performer, to have that even being asked: Was it real? Was it not real? That lifts it to a level that I'm very comfortable with. What's left is the fact that it was a terrific piece of television."

''Derren Brown: Séance'' (2004)

Brown's next project, ''Derren Brown: Séance,'' aired on Channel 4 on 31 May 2004. In Séance, he brought students from Roehampton University together for a live séance. He held the event at Elton Hall in east London, claiming the location had a history of paranormal activity after 12 people killed themselves in a suicide pact in 1974. Brown then proceeded to demonstrate the methods used by spiritualists.

The show attempted to involve the television audience with interactive activities, the first being to identify one of the members of the suicide pact by looking at photographs. The 12 pictures were shown on screen in a set pattern, with half of them in colour and half black and white. The viewer was instructed to choose one of the colour images that they "feel a connection with". Brown then directed the viewers in a movement pattern between the photographs (for example, move left or right to one of the adjacent black and white photographs). The positioning and movement instructions were carefully planned to ensure that no matter which photograph was initially chosen the viewer would finish on the picture of "Jane". Ten of the students also chose Jane. During the following Ouija board scene, the "spirit" guided the students to spell the name ''Jane''.

Two of the students, along with the television viewers, were asked to write the name of a city. Both students chose London.

The final scene, the séance itself, saw the group "contact" Jane. One of the students spoke as if she were Jane, giving details of her life. A letter and short film confirmed the accuracy of the details.

Brown went on to explain some of the manipulations he had used, including the photograph positioning/instructions and the use of the ideomotor effect during the Ouija board scene. The suicide pact had not taken place and "Jane" was introduced to the students at the end of the show. In his book, ''Tricks of the Mind'', Brown reveals that, contrary to claims when the show was aired, ''Séance'' did not go out live. He said it was necessary to make people believe that it did at the time.

Channel 4 received 700 complaints, most before the episode was aired. Viewers who felt "something unusual" were invited to call a telephone number, and callers were told that the show was carefully planned, and that no paranormal activities were taking place. Brown also warned viewers about the impending Ouija board scene, advising those who objected for "religious reasons or otherwise" to stop watching the show.

''Derren Brown: Messiah'' (2005)

Shown on 7 January 2005, Brown travelled to the United States to try to convince five leading figures that he had powers in their particular field of expertise: Christian evangelism, alien abduction, psychic powers, New Age theories and contacting the dead.

Using a false name each time, he succeeded in convincing all of the "experts" that he had powers, and four openly endorsed him as a true practitioner. The fifth expert, the Christian evangelist Curt Nordhielm, whilst impressed by Brown's performance, asked to meet him again before giving an endorsement. The concept of the show was to highlight the power of suggestion with regard to beliefs and people's abilities, and failure to question them. Brown made it quite clear with each experiment that if any of the subjects accused him of trickery he would immediately come clean about the whole thing, a rule similar to one of the self-imposed rules of the perpetrators of the Project Alpha hoax. His conclusion was that people tend to hear only things that support their own ideas and ignore contradictory evidence; this is known in psychology as confirmation bias. During the section concerned with religious belief, he 'converted' people to Christian belief with a touch. Afterwards, he 'deprogrammed' them of any such belief.

''Derren Brown: The Gathering'' (2005)

''The Gathering'' was a specially recorded as-live show at a secret location (hidden from the audience) with an invited audience of students from Roehampton University, celebrities, psychologists, psychics, taxi drivers and magicians. It was filmed on 18 May 2005 and broadcast on 29 May. As part of the show Brown recalled streets, page numbers and grid references from the Greater London A-Z map. Pseudo-psychic "mind reading" and "remote viewing" activities were also recreated.

During the show, Brown hypnotised the audience as a group and convinced them that for approximately half an hour after leaving the room they would have no memory of the events. Furthermore, the word "forget" was intermittently flashed very briefly on the backdrop throughout the performance. A variety of audience members were interviewed afterward; some of them couldn't recollect anything (but were nevertheless very impressed); brief clips of these interviews were shown. One of the most memorable stunts was getting a London taxi driver to choose a street in London and then choose and mentally drive a random route. This was achieved by drawing a line on a map of London made of stuck together A-Z pages. An envelope, which had been visible on-stage throughout the entire show, was then opened. This contained a card listing the page number and coordinate of the destination, an acetate with the route marked on it and a receipt for £8 (the estimated cost of the journey by the driver). He started at Buckingham Palace and ended up at Shepherd's Bush Green, the street where the secret performance took place.

''Derren Brown: The Heist'' (2006)

''The Heist'' was shown on 4 January 2006 at 21:00, on Channel 4. In the show, Brown used his skills on selected participants who answered an advertisement. Under the guise of a "motivational seminar" (where they would allegedly learn Brown's skills) Brown recruited a number of participants, eventually manipulating a number of them into robbing a security van in broad daylight. "The Heist" has been described by Brown as one of the stunts of which he is most proud.

The robbery involved holding up a security van and guard (played by an actor) using a realistic-looking toy pistol that Brown had given the subjects earlier, and stealing a case filled with real money. Four people were selected to carry out the robbery from an initial field of thirteen, with three of them actually carrying out the "robbery". The idea was that, after the conditioning they received, they would voluntarily rob the van of their own accord. There was no mention of the "crime" to the participants, and they were not (directly) instructed to do it. The "robbery" was carried out as a result of the conditioning they received and was their own choice, not because of instructions from any third party, including Brown.

Brown associated colour, music and phrases to build the participants into a highly motivated state, converging all of those psychological empowerment tools into a single set-up. The seminar subliminally anchored freedom, childhood, opportunity and romance into various criminal acts. After having previously been convinced to steal sweets from a shop based in Codicote High Street in Hertfordshire, they experienced the euphoria that could be gained from criminal acts.

This programme also contained a re-enactment of the Milgram experiment carried out by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s with the aim of selecting four of the most obedient of the group. Sixty-five percent of the subjects in this experiment were willing to administer lethal electric shocks to another person on the instruction of an authoritative figure (unbeknownst to the subjects, the electric shocks were not actually real). These were the same results as Milgram himself experienced.

''Derren Brown: The System'' (2008)

''The System'', a Channel 4 special in which Brown shared his "100 percent guaranteed" method for winning on the horses, was first shown on 1 February 2008.

The show was based around the idea that a system could be developed to "guarantee a winner" of horse races. Cameras followed a member of the public, Khadisha, as Brown anonymously sent her correct predictions of five races in a row, before encouraging her to place as much money as she could on the sixth race.

To demonstrate the system to the viewer, Brown tossed a coin showing ten heads in a row to prove it was not impossible, just highly improbable.

After Brown had placed a bet of £4,000 of Khadisha's money on a horse in the final race, he explained that "The System" did not really exist. He had started by contacting 7,776 people and split them into six groups, giving each group a different horse. As each race had taken place ⁵⁄₆ of the people had lost and were dropped from the system. Brown had a different person backing each horse in each race, and one individual, Khadisha, won five times in a row. This was similar to the coin flipping earlier: rather than having a predictive technique, Brown had tossed a coin repeatedly until ten heads had come up in a row, taking over nine hours to produce the required film. Brown expressed the opinion that the principle behind "The System" (essentially confirmation bias or survivorship bias) is what is behind belief in spiritualism or homeopathic and alternative medicine.

After the selected horse in the final race lost, and Khadisha was convinced that she had lost all her borrowed money, Brown told Khadisha to look again at the betting slip in her hand. The ticket showed the winning horse's name, meaning Khadisha kept her stake and received winnings of £13,000. Brown claimed that he had decided to bet on a different horse when he got to the booth.

At the end of the show, a title card explained that "at each stage of the process, participants who did not make it to the next round were offered a complete refund of any bets they had placed."

''Derren Brown: Hero at 30,000 Feet'' (2010)

On 8 September 2010, Brown presented a new special on Channel 4 entitled "Derren Brown: Hero at 30,000 Feet". The programme consisted of Brown taking a man called Matt Galley, a normal person stuck in a rut in his life, and throughout the programme coaches him to take control of life and achieve his aspirations. The programme was divided into chapters to introduce different stages in the transformation, many of which were undertaken without the subject knowing of Brown's involvement (via cooperation with Galley's parents and girlfriend to set up cameras in his house). At one stage Brown visits Galley in the middle of the night, but leaves him believing it was a dream.

During the program Galley is put through a series of challenges, including being the victim of an armed robbery, touching a live crocodile, illicitly entering a policeman's home, lying on a train track in a straitjacket strapped to the line whilst a train approached him (the first challenge when he knew he was awake and that Brown was involved in this). The show culminated in Galley travelling on a plane where the pilot had supposedly been incapacitated.

Galley, who had not been on a plane in 10 years and had a fear of flying, joined a flight travelling from Leeds to Jersey (where he has been told that a fake game-show presented by Brown was to be filmed). The plane flight crew, stewards and stewardesses were real, but the rest of the passengers were actors. During the flight the cabin crew announced that the captain had been taken ill and asked for a volunteer to land the plane. At the last minute Galley volunteered, whilst walking up to the front of the plane he was placed into a trance by Brown. After landing Galley was placed into a cockpit flight simulator and woken up. He was talked through how to land the plane by a person claiming to be ground control. Galley completed the challenge successfully and then emerged from the simulator, to meet Brown and all the actors involved in the programme plus his family and friends.

Brown responded to skepticism about the show on his blog, noting many aspects of the show's production that were edited from the televised version simply due to time constraints. He also confirms Donnie Darko, Fight Club, The Game and Watchmen as influences for the show. He went on to say, "this has been my favourite show to work on – most ambitious, most involved, most demanding and by far the most joyful. I consider it my fondest and best...."

''Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale'' (2011)

''Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale'' is a feature length program about the controversial practice of faith healing. In the show Brown attempted to turn a member of the British public into a "faith healer" and to convincingly give a faith healing show to church goers in Texas. The show premièred 25 April 2011 on Channel 4.

Other television appearances

An interview with Brown was featured in Richard Dawkins' two-part documentary series "The Enemies of Reason". Brown explained various psychological techniques used by alleged psychics and spiritual mediums to manipulate their audiences. The most notable is cold reading, a technique about which Brown talked extensively in his book "Tricks of the Mind". Some video footage was also used from Brown's TV special "Messiah".

As part of Channel 4's 3D season, Brown presented "Derren Brown's 3D Magic Spectacular". The show was not a new special from Brown, rather he was the presenter for a number of other magicians and clips that were shown. However, he did include one clip in which he found an object that had been hidden in the streets of Venice by a volunteer.

In January 2011, to celebrate 10 years since the his first television appearance, Channel 4 held a special Derren Brown Night. Along with re-showing The Heist (which won a recent poll of favourite specials) and one of his Enigma Live shows the channel screened a special documentary; ''Derren Brown: Behind The Mischief'', a personal and candid film about Brown. The documentary included the story of how he met his co-writer (who featured in Seance), his mother's feelings about his involvement in Russian Roulette, and an emotional visit back to his old school, university and Bristol bars where he first began his close-up magic. Celebrities contributors included Matt Lucas, Jo Whiley, Stephen Merchant and Simon Pegg.

Stage shows

''Derren Brown Live (2003–2004)''

Brown's first live stage show was ''Derren Brown Live'', which he performed in the UK in 2003. The tour was then extended into 2004.

''Something Wicked This Way Comes (2005–2006)''

Brown's second live stage show, ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'', toured around the UK following its success in the West End. The tour began in March 2005 at the Cambridge Theatre and finished in May at the Hammersmith Apollo. The run was then once more extended into the following year, being performed and filmed for a final time at the Old Vic Theatre in mid-June 2006.

A 90-minute edit of this show was broadcast on 29 December 2006 and 10 June 2007, on Channel 4, on 10 May 2008 and 17 Jan 2009 on E4 and once more on 17 June 2008 on Channel 4; a longer, unedited version was released on DVD in May 2008. The show won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment Show 2006. The show was co-written and directed by his long time collaborator Andy Nyman. The title is a direct quote from William Shakespeare's ''Macbeth''; Act 4, scene 1, line 45.

''Mind Reader – An Evening of Wonders (2007–2008)''

Brown's third live stage show toured the United Kingdom in 2007 and 2008. "Derren Brown, Mind Reader — An Evening of Wonders", began 29 April 2007 in Blackpool, and ended 17 June in Bristol.

The show toured again from February until April 2008 throughout the UK, and concluded with a West End run at the Garrick Theatre during May and early June. The West End run was a strictly limited season of 32 performances only. A performance from the last week of the tour at the Garrick Theatre was filmed for Channel 4 and aired on 13 January 2009.

''Derren Brown – Enigma (2009–2010)''

Enigma is the name of Brown's 2009/10 stage tour, directed by Andy Nyman. It began in Chatham on Friday 17 April 2009, visiting various UK towns before ending in London with a month at the Adelphi Theatre starting Monday 15 June 2009. The show includes Brown attempting to put the entire audience into a trance (he makes it clear this is ''not'' hypnotism and will ''not'' affect everyone). At the end of the show Brown requests that audience members, particularly reviewers and the press, do not reveal the show's secrets and surprises to others to avoid spoiling the fun. The show toured the UK again during the first half of 2010. Enigma was nominated for an Olivier award on the 8th of February 2010, Brown's second nomination for an Olivier following his 2006 show Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was announced on Brown's blog that Enigma will be released on DVD as part of a box set containing three of his live shows ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'', ''An Evening of Wonders'' and ''Enigma'' ready for a January 2011 release. ''Enigma'' was shown on Channel 4 on 6 January 2011 before the release of the box set. It also aired on both 7 and 8 January 2011, the latter forming a part of 'Derren Brown Night'.

''Svengali''

Derren Brown's 5th tour, entitled Svengali, opened on 9 March 2011 in Brighton and is planned to run until April 2012. It is Brown's first show that is not written in collaboration with Andy Nyman.

Books

Brown has written four books on magic: ''Absolute Magic'', ''Pure Effect,'' ''Tricks of the Mind,'' and ''Confessions of a Conjuror.'' The first two books he penned are intended solely for practitioners of magic and mentalism, whilst his books ''Tricks of the Mind'' and ''Confessions of a Conjuror'' are aimed at the general public.

''Absolute Magic'', subtitled ''A Model for Powerful Close-Up Performance'', is not so much about magical methodology as about how magicians can make their performances magical; it is written in a variety of styles: sometimes humorous, sometimes serious. He warns against an act that conveys the feeling of "Here are some tricks I've bought" and urges magicians to make their performances experiential and memorable by involving the audience. In some respects a lot of what he says is evocative of the content of Darwin Ortiz's ''Strong Magic'' but his book expresses it in the context of his experiences, performance style and theories of how performance should be. ''(Out of print)''

''Pure Effect'' is a more traditional book of trickery and technique and offers an insight into some of the methods that Brown employs, and offers a starting point for development for the reader's own use. ''(Out of print)''

''Tricks of the Mind'' is Brown's first book intended for the general public. It is a wide-ranging book in which Brown reveals some of the techniques he uses in his performances, delves into the structure and psychology of magic and discusses hypnosis. He also applies his insight to the paranormal industry, looking at the structure of beliefs and how psychology can explain why people become 'true believers'. He also offers autobiographical stories about his own experiences as a former Christian, and discusses his scepticism about religion, allegedly 'psychic' mediums and sundry other belief systems.

''Confessions of a Conjuror'' was published by Channel 4 Books in October 2010. (ISBN 978-1-905-02657-9)

Other productions and publications

Brown has recorded some audio extracts from ''Tricks of the Mind''. In them he expounds on the three subjects essential to his performance—Magic, Memory and Hypnosis. The extracts last around 40 minutes each, disclosing tips and techniques Brown uses in his acts (as well as day-to-day) and narrating the highlights of his book.

''The Devil's Picturebook'' is a near 3 hour home-made video. The first half explains in detail some classic card routines from his earlier career as a conjurer, all of which rely on sleight of hand, misdirection and audience management. The second looks at psychological card routines and shows a distinct move towards mentalism, for which he is now known. It is an instructional video for aspiring magicians and not an entertainment piece. For this reason, it was available only to practitioners through a password-protected "magicians only" area of his website. The clue to the password tells you that the word itself begins with T and is a type of palming trick.

''International Magic Presents: The Derren Brown Lecture'' is an 80-minute lecture DVD of close-up mentalism and subsequent discussion of various aspects of Brown's performance. Again, this product is not intended for general consumption but is directed at magicians and mentalists only.

In 2007, Brown performed in the short film ''Medium Rare''.

In 2008, Brown made a guest acting appearance in BBC Four's ''Crooked House'' as Sir Roger Widdowson.

In 2008, Brown provided caricatures for "The QI "F" annual".

In 2009, a book, ''Portraits'', was released containing a selection of Brown's paintings and bizarre caricatures of celebrities.

In 2010, Brown appeared in a special Comedy Gala for Channel four and Great Ormond Street Hospital. He appeared with Kevin Bishop, who played his jealous annoying twin 'Darren'.

DVD releases

! Title	! Release Date	! Information
''Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind''	6 October 2003 (re-released 16 April 2007)	Footage and some unused footage from Brown's ''Mind Control'' series.
''Trick of the Mind: Series 1''	25 April 2005	The first series of the Channel 4 show ''Trick of the Mind''.
''Trick of the Mind: Series 2''	27 March 2006	The second series of the Channel 4 show ''Trick of the Mind''
''Something Wicked This Way Comes''	5 May 2008	A DVD release of the stage show with the same name, including segments not shown on Channel 4.
''Derren Brown: The Specials''	3 November 2008	A collection of four of Derren Brown's one-off television specials: The Heist, The System, Séance, and Russian Roulette.
''Derren Brown: An Evening Of Wonders''	18 May 2009	A DVD release of the stage show with the same name.
''Derren Brown: Enigma''	17 January 2011	A DVD release of the stage show with the same name.
''Derren Brown: Live Collection''	17 January 2011	A collection of three of Derren Brown's stage shows: Something Wicked This Way Comes, An Evening Of Wonders, and Enigma.

Criticism

In a ''Daily Telegraph'' article published in 2003 Simon Singh criticised Brown's early TV appearances, arguing that he presented standard magic and mentalism effects—such as the classic Ten Card Poker Deal trick—as genuine psychological manipulation. On Brown's television and live shows he often appears to show the audience how a particular effect was created—claiming to use techniques such as subliminal suggestion, hypnosis, and body language reading. Singh's suggestion is that these explanations are dishonest. Furthermore, Singh took exception to the programme's website being categorised under Channel 4's "Science" section. The mini-site was moved to Entertainment for later series. In his book ''Tricks of the Mind'', Brown writes,

Brown claims to never use actors or "stooges" in his work without informing the viewers. In ''Tricks of the Mind'', Brown writes that to use such a ploy is "artistically repugnant and simply unnecessary"; furthermore, he "would not want any participant to watch the TV show when it airs and see a different or radically re-edited version of what he understood to have happened".

Methods

Brown claims to use a variety of methods to achieve his illusions including traditional magic/conjuring techniques, memory techniques, hypnosis, body language reading, cognitive psychology, cold reading and psychological, subliminal (specifically the use of PWA – "perception without awareness") and ideomotor suggestion.

Psychological illusions

In an interview published in New Scientist, Brown says that he first developed many of his "psychological illusion" skills through his training in hypnotherapy before he was involved in learning close-up magic. When asked how he was able to produce various psychological illusions such as apparent mind-reading, lie detection and hypnotic induction, Brown claimed to be able to read on subtle cues such as a micro-muscle movements that indicate to him if someone is lying or holding something back. He also states that his participants are carefully selected based on their suggestibility and responsiveness which is common in stage hypnosis. He believes that the presence of a television camera also increases responsiveness.

Neuro-linguistic programming

Several authors have claimed that Brown uses neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) in his act which "consists of a range of magical 'tricks', misdirection and, most intriguing, setting up audiences to provide the response that he wishes them to provide by using subtle subliminal cues in his conversation with them." In response to the accusation that he unfairly claims to be using NLP whenever he performs, Brown writes "The truth is I have never mentioned it outside of my book". Brown does have an off-stage curiosity about the system, and discusses it in the larger context of hypnotism and suggestion. In his book "Tricks of the Mind" he mentions that he attended an NLP course with Richard Bandler, co-creator of NLP and mentor of Paul McKenna, but suggests that the rigid systems of body language interpretation employed by NLP are not as reliable as its practitioners imply. He also mentions the NLP concept of eye accessing cues as a technique of "limited use" in his book "Pure Effect". The language patterns which he uses to suggest behaviours are very similar in style to those used by Richard Bandler and by the hypnotist from whom Bandler learned his skill, Milton H. Erickson. Brown also mentions in his book 'Tricks of the Mind' that NLP students were given a certificate after a four-day course, certifying them to practice NLP as a therapist. A year after Brown attended the class, he received a number of letters saying that he would receive another certificate, not for passing a test (as he discontinued practising NLP following the course), but for keeping in touch. After ignoring their request, he later received the new certificate for NLP in his mailbox, unsolicited.

Personal life

Brown was an evangelical Christian in his teens, but became an atheist in his twenties. This is discussed by Brown in the Messiah special, and in his book ''Tricks of the Mind''. In an interview with Professor Richard Dawkins, Brown explained he sought to strengthen his belief and provide answers to common criticisms of religion by reading the Bible and other Christian religious texts, but upon doing so found none of the answers he sought and came to the conclusion that his belief (in Christianity) had no basis.

Big Issue website described Brown as being "playfully mendacious". Although it has been said that Brown is banned from every casino in Britain, other sources report that casinos welcome the publicity from his visits.

In an interview with the Independent in 2007 Brown stated that he is gay.

In an interview with the Radio Times in 2011 Brown talked more about his sexuality, stating that he is blissfully happy in a relationship. He said, "I spent a lot of time thinking about me and working on what I wanted to be before I came into a relationship. In some ways, it’s bad because you come into relationship quite late without a lot of experience and you have a lot to learn. But that can also be exciting. Certainly, it’s lovely to have somebody love you and it’s lovely to love someone else."

Since 2004 Brown has been the patron of the registered charity the Parrot Zoo Trust at Friskney in eastern Lincolnshire near Boston, England.

References

External links

Derren Brown at Channel 4

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Danny MacAskill, (born 23 December 1985) also known as 'Danny MegaSkill', is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He is 176 centimeters tall and works professionally as a street trials pro rider for Inspired Bicycles Ltd. He released 'April 2009', a five-and-a-half-minute street trials video, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby, on YouTube on the 19th April 2009. The video quickly gained popular acclaim and widespread media attention. The video features stunts performed by MacAskill set to 'The Funeral' by Band of Horses.

As of April 2009, MacAskill, who was brought up in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, had been practicing for more than 12 years. He gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full time. He now lives in Edinburgh. In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves' single "Winter Hill". MacAskill also appeared in a TV-commercial for the new Volkswagen Golf Estate.

On 16 November 2010 MacAskill released a new video "Way back home" sponsored by Red Bull. The video showcases locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle, North Berwick, wartime bunkers on the island of Inchgarvie beneath the Forth Bridge and a hydro-electric power station in the Scottish Highlands.. In May 2011 Leica Cameras released a "Go Play" promo video featuring him doing tricks in the city of Cape Town. In August 9th of 2011 Cut Media released a video named "Industrial Revolutions". The video features MacAskill doing tricks in an abandoned Scottish iron works. It was created for Channel 4's documentary Concrete Circus.

References

External links

dannymacaskill.co.uk

Category:People from Skye and Lochalsh Category:Scottish cyclists Category:Living people Category:1985 births

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